I wanted to write this after seeing the Good Luck Charlie episode where P.J. wants to write a jingle for Bob. I got the idea when I saw him sitting on the porch rail. Also, he's my favorite charcter, and there didn't seem to be any fanfics about him.

5/16/10 12:22 PM

Good Luck Renzia

Frayed strings dangled from a vanity, with nothing attached to them and nowhere to go. Renzia Sark didn't know why she kept them, or even the reason the strings were there in the first place. It was something she left unquestioned, like why her eyes were so green. They were going to stay that way, and that's just how it was.

Even after walking out the front door, Renzia wondered how she would get to wherever she was going. She could see the limo parked not far away, but in such a new place, everything was a mystery. Besides, the driver was off-duty at the moment, so she had no on to ask: Where are we headed today? There was no 'we', it was just her.

Visiting relatives was an ordinary thing, but her cousin's house was overwhelming. Renzia could hear echoes in closets, and that bothered her. Scared her, even. It just wasn't her, so she had to get away. She left the mansion before breakfast, and the warm Saturday air welcomed her into town. The real town. The nice, simple town. No hilltop mansions in sight.

In her simple white sundress, Renzia strolled along unfamiliar sidewalks. She was happy to be wearing sandals, they let her feet breathe. Her silky dark hair went far past her shoulders, it was 23 inches long. She didn't let it hide the features of her face, which always seemed to raise the question: "What are you?" No matter where she went. She knew all too well that saying "Mixed" was way too simple of an answer, but Renzia never talked much. She was too shy for that.

For well over twenty minutes, Renzia walked straight forward. She listened to birds chirp, watched squirrels run up trees, and walked through some sprinklers if no one was home. She was sure that anyone around could her laughing, but no one seemed to care. Renzia took in nature's beauty, and breathed out a feeling of freedom into the atmosphere.

Then she saw him. She couldn't notice his eyes, since they were closed, but she smiled at the way the stranger's fingers strummed guitar strings. He knew what freedom was too, she could tell. She wasn't close enough to hear the music the boy was making, but her own heart seemed to sing taking in the sight. It was nice, but that's all she could say about it, since the boy just let her pass by.

That wasn't a sad moment, it was hardly a moment. Renzia made a deal with herself as she walked past the house. She was going to keep her thoughts inside her own head, where they were safe. No boy sitting on the rail of his front porch was going to change that, and neither was the tire swing in the yard.

Her smile faded as she walked on. Renzia could tell she was lying to herself. Her situation wasn't about sadness at all. She was perfectly happy, it was her shyness that kept her away. She couldn't tell herself she wouldn't get sucked into some stranger's life. She was shutting herself out, and if she kept doing that, everyone would be a stranger to her. Even herself.

Forcing herself to turn around, Renzia walked past the house again. Slowly. She knew she looked like she had no idea where she was going, and the boy on the porch proved her right about that. "Are you lost?"

Even his voice was musical to her. Renzia knew this because when she heard it, her ears perked up. Distinctive. A good quality. She smiled, looking up at him. "I'm new in town. Staying with other family until my parents move everything over here." It was the most she'd ever said to a stranger without a parent or friend by her side. Renzia was almost proud of herself.

Very briefly, Renzia thought about stepping onto the porch steps. She dismissed the thought as quickly as it came, though. She saw trouble, because that was only thing her awkwardness could lead to. Standing still wasn't doing much good either, and she wondered what to do with herself as the boy stood up. He leaned his guitar up against the column behind him, and put his hands on the rail.

"Is that an original song you were playing just now?" Renzia couldn't help but ask. "Yeah." He said, being modest about it. Even though Renzia didn't know if he could tell she was amazed but what she heard. "Well, it was great." She said shyly.

"Thanks." He said, after she watched his blue eyes widen and saw a smile spread across his face. She failed to notice it flushed red. Renzia felt like she was running out of things to say, even though she hadn't introduced herself yet. She was waiting on him to do that.

"That songs just a work in progress, though. I started it this morning. Good to know somebody likes it."

His sad expression and low tone implied something, but Renzia was too afraid to ask what that was. Pressure was crushing down on her shoulders, and she didn't know where it came from. Talking to new people had always been a challenge for her, but this was the worst case yet. Until he broke the ice. "I'm P.J. Duncan, by the way."

"Renzia." She told him. "Renzia Sark." She reached her hand up so he could shake it, since she was still standing on the sidewalk. P.J. reached down and they met in the middle. They both knew their awkward handshake would be a memorable moment. Renzia was embarrassed, but he just smiled at her. "Renzia." P.J. echoed. "That's an interesting name."

Usually when people referred to Renzia's name as interesting, she knew they meant weird. P.J. didn't sound like he meant that at all though, and she didn't notice they were still holding hands from the handshake. "It's Greek." "You're Greek?" P.J. asked, sounding shocked. Renzia didn't blame him. She knew she certainly didn't look Greek, if there was a way to. Probably because she wasn't. Out of all the people who asked her about her nationalities, Renzia didn't see a problem in telling him what they were.

"No, actually. My parents just liked the name. Most people would say I'm just about everything else, though." P.J. almost laughed when Renzia rubbed the back of her neck and tried to shrug that off. "Why is that?" He asked. Renzia surprised herself by answering, even though she wanted to. "I'm a quarter Asian, a quarter Black, a quarter Latina and a quarter White."

"Really?" "You don't believe me?" She whispered. "No, no, I believe you." P.J. answered. "That's really cool." Renzia shrugged, but said: "Yeah, I always thought so." In her calm tone. Nervously, she looked down at her hand. She almost gasped, seeing that it was still in P.J.'s. He didn't seem to notice.

"Uh…" She began, not knowing how to tell him that she felt uncomfortable like that. The reason behind that was that Renzia felt perfectly content that way. Realizing that, she knew there was a problem. Something she needed desperately to fix. As quickly as humanly possible. Panicking in that moment, she snatched her hand back.

Renzia was surprised because she didn't know she had the ability to snatch anything. P.J. was surprised because he could actually feel his hand burning. And strangest of all: His heart breaking.

From what? It didn't make sense. The whole situation just wasn't logical. Not that P.J. had ever looked at anything in life in a logical sense. It wasn't that he found life a lot less enjoyable that way, he just knew logic had absolutely nothing to do with love. Knowing that, he also knew he had to be going crazy. What did love have to do with anything? All he had was in front of him was a face and a name.

"I'm sorry." Renzia said quietly, seconds later. "I just have to go. I left the… house without telling anybody and… maybe they're worried about me. Um… bye." P.J. nodded, trying to hide his confusion. Renzia probably picked up on it because he didn't say a word. Only after she was gone did he echo one of her words. "Maybe?" He didn't doubt that Renzia's family was worried about her, but that didn't matter. He couldn't think about that while he looked down at his hand. It had gone limp, almost lifeless.

He could still feel his heartbeat, going faster than he ever remembered.

Thanks for reading! How was that? I can't wait to write more!